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‘Taste of Tuscany’ brings Italian cuisine to the Palouse

By Lorie Hutson lorieh@spokesman.com(509) 459-5446

Try a taste of Tuscany next Wednesday evening and help Washington State University students study abroad.

The WSU School of Hospitality management will host “A Taste of Tuscany on the Palouse,” showcasing the food of Italian chef Andrea Trapani paired with wines from WSU alumni wineries.

Trapani is the executive chef and instructor at the Apicius International School of Hospitality in Florence, Italy, where WSU students study abroad each summer.

WSU executive chef Jamie Callison and two students traveled to the James Beard House in New York City this week to assist Trapani and other Apicius chefs at their annual dinner at the culinary foundation, named for Beard, a chef and cooking instructor dubbed the “dean of American cookery” by The New York Times in 1954.

After that dinner in New York, Trapani will travel to Pullman to visit the school and cook for the WSU “Taste of Tuscany” event at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Todd Hall dining room.

The five-course dinner will include a reception with hors d’oeuvres. The first course, or amuse bouche, will be poached quail egg served with potato foam, crushed cocoa and blue cheese. Seared scallop served with lentils and Tuscan prosciutto powder is the planned starter.

The third course, or primo, will be cocoa-flavored ravioli stuffed with butter and sage served with a fondue of 24-month-aged parmigiano. The main course will be Milanese veal loin served with cocoa-scented polenta, confit cherry tomatoes and braised artichokes.

Milk chocolate mousse with caramelized pineapple, almond brittle and lavender panna cotta are planned for dessert.

Money raised will help support the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management Study Abroad program and Wine-By-Cougars Wine Business Management Scholarship.

Tickets are available at http://alumni.wsu.edu/ TasteOfTuscany. For more information contact Callison at (509) 335-7426.

Okané closed for a month

Okané On The Hill, sister restaurant to Raw Sushi and Island Grill in downtown Spokane, is closed while owner Noel Macapagal is otherwise occupied.

Macapagal says he plans to reopen the restaurant in a month. In the meantime, he says he’ll be busy with the new VIP room expansion at Raw, called the Black Room.

Raw is at First Avenue and Howard Street in downtown Spokane.